“The Knowing” by Shellee Coley: An Analogy

“I’ll show you my heart, you whisper through the dark and we’ll go safely to the knowing”. I don’t know when I realized this but I know my heart must have paused for a few seconds. Often times I found myself wondering, “what if?” or, my favorite, “what went wrong?” with a relationship. When exactly did we fall out of love? There’s been millions of not-so-happy endings, so why are we unable to answer this question without growing further away from “the knowing”?“The Knowing”, a combination of soft and peaceful instruments made to set up a blissful notation together with the flawless voice of Shellee Coley, a drop dead gorgeous Houstonian blowing up in the music world. Coley is giving a new meaning to the terms, “listening to music” and, in my case, answered all the questions that ever surrounded my heart. As I listened to the melody I found the lyrics dancing within every musical note were very easy to go untouched because of the trance you’ve embarked by pressing “play”. I didn’t realize how lost I was in her voice until the meaning of the lyrics were long gone. In the attempt to connect on a different level with the message being portrayed in The Knowing, I dissected every line.

The Knowing spoke to me in different ways. It made me happy, it made me sad, it made me wonder, it gave me closure. As I mentioned before, there are questions that have haunted me and living and experiencing life had yet to answer them. I deserved answers.

“I never hold my cars with you

I just throw them up in the air to see what you will do”

Analogy:

Coley writes about” never [holding her] cards”, “throwing them up in the air to see” what the song’s John Doe will do next. It immediately hit me, the idea of using poker as a comparison to the game called love (I’m staying far away from Lady Gaga’s Love Games version LOL) is the most clever and metaphoric approach. Poker is a very complex game, hell, I barely understand it so I won’t try to explain, however, is love not as complicated? You make your moves, you watch his, you take the risks, you win or loose. These lines are the classic, “I’m opening up to someone so they can feel comfortable opening up to me” type of love game.

“It feels like I’m dancing for only you to see

when you pick up the cards and hold them, just for me”

Now this part got me. Not knowing jack about poker, I thought about different reasons why this person would hold their cards, are they scared to show what they hold? Are they hiding something big?

Analogy:

When she explains she feels like she’s, “dancing for only [John Doe]” it reflects the dedication to the relationship. Dancing is extremely intimate time between two souls.

The person holding the cards, like in poker, hide their moves and, if they re blessed with the poker face, are good at hiding the fact there’s ever a finishing or “winning” move on their end, leading to your destruction (tun, tun, tun). This could be simply explained as a couple facing intimacy issues. While one is all up for the giving, the other has their guard up.

“”you tend to guard your words with me

keep them safely on your tongue so that they don’t run free”

–By guarding your words, you are keeping true feelings to yourself, it is almost never a good sign of a healthy relationship.

“But I don’t need your words to hear the whispers through the dark

cause they lie safely in the silence between our hearts”

Analogy:

“Whispers” are the questions you ask yourself when something doesn’t seem right, also known as your instinct. They fill your mind until you’re brave enough to seek answers outside your mind. They give you comfort, they kill you inside.

These “whispers” is what keeps your relationship from prospering, from growing, from long-lasting, or, they wake you up from love. The questions you ask yourself, these “whispers”, ironically, are the answers you’re looking for.

“I’ll show you my heart,

you whisper through the dark

and we go safely to the knowing”

Analogy:

Like in most cases, you’re not the only one that feels that way. Your partner or friend knows what’s going on, they might be at fault, but their “whispers” will consume their mind as well.

What’s “the knowing”?

“The knowing” is the state of mind you’re in when you finally realize “this isn’t going anywhere”. The games, the insecurities, none of that is worth your heart.

Why do they both go “safely to the knowing”?

If you’re lucky enough, you exit the relationship with respect for one another and a whole lot of beautiful moments that signify the relationship you had with this person. While it might be hard, you still wish this person well, after all, you lived and learned as consequence.

Overall Review of Song:

I love a song that challenges your mind. The Knowing brought back so many questions I had about the people who were once a big part of my life and helped me move passed any expectations I had for closure. Shellee Coley’s magical voice radiated the emotions my heart was feeling as all the memories flushed over me. The perfect “you got to move on” song for the brokenhearted.

Where can you listen to the song?

Please refer to the Shellee Coley website to steam, “The Knowing”, and find out more about her upcoming projects.

Shellee Coley was featured in the Houston Press this past Wednesday, an amazing opportunity for us to get a better insight on her “musical meditation” career we can all experience one song at a time.

Want vibe with her live? Tickets to her next show, February 6th at 8 PM, are available in the Main Street Crossing website for as low as $12, just in time for an early Valentine’s Day date or a night with the girlfriends with great music, dinner and drinks!

Have any great ideas for AGOB?

The universe has gifted us incredible minds that have solved countless of diseases, entertained us with books, sculptures, music and many other forms of art. Don't limit yourself, you're capable of much more than you give yourself credit for. Any topic or discussion ideas for the blog are welcomed, just go to our "Reach Out" and start typing my dear! Talk soon!
-Flores Flores